Changes
by JantoFan
Summary: Vince thinks his life could be better if he could make certain choices again, and take a different path. But could it really be that straightforward?
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, I told myself I would finish updating my other fic before starting a new one, but I sort of started this one… (Bad girl! Bad!) Anyhoo, this was inspired by and episode of Family Guy and the Doctor Who episode 'Turn Left'. Was originally going to be a one-shot but as soon as I started writing it I realised it would be uber long and no-one would probably bother reading it! So I'm going to break it up into chapters instead :) Let me know what you think! Please? Love!**

**Disclaimer: The Might Boosh does not belong to me; I just like to play with it.**

* * *

"This is SHIT!" Vince complained, kicking the pavement. Howard glanced at him.

"Come on little man, calm down. We'll have other opportunities."

"That's what you said last time!" Vince and Howard had just been turned down, yet again, by Pie-Face records. Vince felt sure no-one had ever been turned down so often. "Everything in my life sucks."

"Oh, thanks Vince."

Vince looked quickly at Howard. "I don't mean you, you jazzy freak. I mean all the situations in my life suck."

Howard looked unsure about whether to be offended or pleased.

"I'm telling you, Howard, if I could go back in time and change stuff my life would be so much better now!"

Howard laughed. "You say that, but you don't know."

"Whatever."

Howard looked at his watch. "I'm late for Jazz-ercise. You sure you don't want to come?"

Vince shuddered. "A bunch of old men getting sweaty listening to jazz? No thanks!"

Howard shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Vince wondered on alone, cursing. He blamed himself for this, although later he felt sure he would be telling Howard exactly why it was his fault, and not Vince's. He hated that he did that, but he somehow couldn't help it…

"You want to change your life?" a voice asked from the shadow's, making Vince jump. He squinted into the darkness.

"Who're you?"

"Just a simple gypsy woman." Came the reply. "But I have something you might want…"

"Oh yeah?"

"This." The old woman held out her hand. In it was a beautiful little pocket watch, the old fashioned kind that needed winding. Vince examined it.

"That is pretty genius actually." He admitted. "It'd go great with my new boots!"

"Oh, but it is so much more than an accessory! With this watch, you can change time!"

"What're you on about?"

The old woman smiled, creepily. "With this watch, you can go back to an event in your life and do it differently if you so choose!"

"Yeah?"

"But you must make your decisions wisely. Once you have visited a moment, you cannot go back to it."

"Sure. How much for the watch?"

"135 Euros."

Vince handed over the money. He didn't believe her about changing time, but it was a pretty nice watch.

"Just wind the watch, think of a time in your life, and press the button at the top! You can change your own fortune!"

Vince rolled his eyes. "Ok. Cheers then!" he walked off. Had he looked back, he would have seen the old woman chuckle to herself before vanishing in what appeared to be a silent explosion of black smoke. But he didn't, and so he didn't.

* * *

That night Vince lay on his bed playing with the watch. He was incredibly bored; Howard still wasn't back from jazz-ercise and he didn't have the money to go out clubbing. He sighed. _It would be fun if this watch really __**could **__take me back in time! _He thought, stroking the engraved markings on the back, _I could make my life so much more exciting! But where would I go?_ He thought for a while, then a grin lit up his face. He could think of one thing he would change; back in year 8 when he'd been invited to a 16th birthday party by the hottest girl in school. He'd ended up going out with Howard instead, because even at 13 Vince understood you didn't cancel plans with friends for a potential girlfriend. Even if she was 3 years older and totally hot. _I could so have had her._ Vince thought, absently winding the watch. _That party would have been genius! _He could almost see it, in his mind's eye. With a grin, he pressed the button on the top of the watch, not expecting anything to happen.

So he was too surprised to even cry out when the world suddenly dissolved into impenetrable blackness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Vince sat up rubbing his head, and realised he was sitting on the floor. What the hell was he doing there? He didn't have time for this, he was meant to be meeting Howard for coffee. He hadn't seen him for ages, what with all the mock GCSE revision Howard had been doing…

_Hold on, Howard's 32! He did his GCSEs ages ago! _Vince looked around. _And what the bloody hell am I doing at my old secondary school?_ He felt a chill run down his spine, and slowly looked down at himself. He was small. Too small. Vince got up and ran to a nearby notice board and peered at his reflection in the glass. He was 13!

_Fuck, the old woman was telling the truth!_ Vince felt sick and afraid suddenly. He picked up the watch and went to push the button again, so he could get back home. Then he stopped himself, and a small smile crossed his face. If what he'd been told about the watch was true, it meant he was back on the night of Michelle Connor's 16th birthday party. Just as he realised this, he heard a shout from behind him.

"Vince!"

He turned, and saw Michelle walking towards him. She was just as pretty as he remembered her; tall and leggy and blonde. But he felt absolutely nothing; looking at her now she just looked like a child. Well; she was only 16 he supposed.

"Hey Michelle!"

"You coming to my party later?" she asked, a slight purr in her voice.

"Sorry, Michelle, I have…" wait, wasn't that the point of this? So he would go to the party instead? "I mean, yeah; of course! Wouldn't miss it!"

"Cool. I'll see you later." She told him, winking seductively over her shoulder as she left. Vince grinned. Ok, so he no longer fancied the hostess, but that didn't mean he couldn't have a good time, right?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Wrong. Vince had forgotten how boring 16th parties could be. It had all the elements for a good party; alcohol, food, music. But there was something missing. Vince sighed and glanced at the clock. Only 10:30. Maybe he could sneak away and meet Howard? He would only be 2 and a half hours late. He sighed, wondering if he should go back on his decision not to drink; alcohol might make this experience a lot less painful. _No_,he decided, _I need a clear head._ A lot of the girls could easily be mistaken for older, and Vince didn't want to do anything he would regret once he sobered up…

"Sarah, what the hell are you doing here?!" he heard Michelle whine from somewhere over his left shoulder. He turned his head to watch.

"What, I'm not allowed to come to my sister's birthday party?"

"No! I told you it was _private_!"

"Oh, fuck off Michelle. I'm older than you; I can do whatever I want."

Vince's ears pricked up. Older? Maybe this night wouldn't be so boring after all… he got up and walked over to where the two girls were still arguing.

"Hi, Michelle."

She turned around and immediately smiled at him. "Hey, Vince."

He smiled at Sarah. "Hi. I'm Vince." He held out his hand.

The older girl looked him up and down slowly, then smiled back and took his hand. "Sarah."

"You look really nice."

She grinned. "Thanks."

Michelle looked from one to the other and huffed, before turning and stalking away.

"Never mind her." Vince said, putting an arm around Sarah's shoulder. "Why don't you tell me about yourself?"

The rest of the evening passed in a bit of a blur. He spent the whole time dancing and talking with Sarah, and towards the end of the night he even ended up kissing her.

He broke away from everyone else at about 03:00, and wondered off to try and find somewhere quiet. He'd had a brilliant time, but it wasn't so fun unless he could go and brag to Howard about it! With a grin of anticipation, Vince pressed the button on top of the watch and the world once again dissolved.

* * *

Vince woke up blearily. God his head hurt. What the hell had he had to drink last night? And why was he fully clothed?

Wait, he hadn't had anything to…oh. He suddenly remembered the watch, and the previous days events came flooding back to him. _Howard is never gonna believe this! _He thought, leaping out of bed and walking out into the flat. "Howard?" there was no reply. "Naboo? Bollo? Anyone here?" no answer. "Oh, thanks for leaving me a note," muttered Vince sarcastically. He was used to Naboo and Bollo randomly disappearing without telling him, but where the hell had Howard gone?

He was about to try ringing the jazz maverick's mobile, when the doorbell rang. Maybe it was Howard, forgotten his key again? Vince stumbled down the stairs, still longing to just go back to bed and sleep. He opened the door and blinked stupidly at the woman stood there. "Sarah? What…what're you doing here?"

"It's your turn, aint it?"

He looked blank.

"Don't tell me you fucking forgot. It is your turn to take him, you aint backing out of it that easily."

"What're you talking about?"

"God, are you high or something? You need to look after your son."

"I don't have a son…" without warning, she slapped him hard across the face. "Don't you dare let him hear you say that, or I will rip your balls off, you understand?"

"Sarah, I really don't…"

"DADDY!"

Before Vince had time to react, a small brown haired child had flung himself at him, wrapping his arms around his waist.

"What…"

"You promised you'd take him to the zoo. If he comes home crying again, I will skin you alive, understand? And don't you dare introduce him to any more of your whores."

"My _what?_"

She ignored him, bending down to the 6 year old. "Bye, sweetie. Mummy'll pick you up tomorrow, ok?"

"Bye mummy!"

Vince could only gape in horror as she turned and walked off down the street. What the hell was going on? He couldn't look after a child; he could barely look after himself…

"Daddy? Are we going to the Zooniverse?"

"It shut down years ago!" Vince protested, remembering the incident with Ivan the bear. The child giggled.

"Silly daddy, no it didn't! Come on, I wanna see the monkey!"

Vince allowed himself to be dragged from the flat, still trying to work out why everyone had gone mad.

An hour later he stood holding the small boy's hand in the middle of the Zooniverse courtyard, mouth open and staring. It was almost exactly like he remembered it, only…it was slightly different somehow.

"Can I go and see the monkey, daddy?"

"Sure." He said faintly, still looking around. At that moment a man walked past him, writing on a clipboard. Vince did a double take. "Howard?!"

The man looked round. It was definitely Howard. "Do I know you?" he asked, a polite yet puzzled expression on his face.

"Howard, it's me! It's Vince!"

Howard stared at him for a minute. Then a smile broke out over his face. "Vince! Oh my goodness, hello! It's been a while, hasn't it? Must be, what, almost 10 years!"

"Eh?"

"So what're you doing with yourself these days?"

"I…I'm in a band. What…do you _work _here?!"

He chuckled. "I suppose you could say that. I own and manage this place."

"You're…you're _manager_?" Vince said faintly. Howard seemed not to notice the horror and confusion in his expression.

"Yes sir! Dream job. I love it here…"

At that moment, Vince saw Mrs Gideon approaching over Howard's shoulder. He was about to say something, when to his shock she slipped her arms around Howard's neck. "Howard, darling, could you call for the vet to come in? I'm worried about my python." She caught sight of Vince. "Oh, hello there."

"Hi." He said weakly.

Howard smiled at her. "Vince, this is my wife Victoria. Victoria, this is an old school friend of mine Vince."

"It is nice to meet you Vince" she said, smiling. At that moment, Vince felt a tugging at his shirt.

"Daddy! Daddy, can I have an ice cream? Daddy!"

"Your son?" Howard asked.

"Err…yeah. Yeah, this is…" Vince paused, horrified. It had just occurred to him that he had no idea what his 'son's' name even was. He saw Howard and Mrs Gideon exchange a look, and Howard frowned at him, confused. Vince thought fast, and gave the small child a poke in the side of the head.

"Go on then, don't be rude! Introduce yourself!"

"I'm Mick." He said, holding out his hand for Howard to shake. Howard shook it.

"Hello, Mick! Are you having a nice day out with your dad?"

"Yeah. I like the monkey!"

"Tell you what, how would you like to help feed him? My friend Joey's going to give him his lunch soon, would you like to help?" he glanced up at Vince. "I mean, if that's ok with you."

Mick looked pleadingly up at him. With a jolt, Vince recognised it as the exact same expression he gave Howard whenever he wanted something! "Umm...yeah. Yeah, that's fine."

"Ok, then! Victoria, could you take young Mick here to find Joey? He should be in the feeding station."

"Certainly, darling." She held out her hand to the child. "Come along young man."

Vince could here him chattering away as they walked off, about how he was named after Mick Jagger, and how he loved monkeys…

Vince felt sick. He realised now what must have happened. Somehow, something he'd done when he'd gone back in time had completely messed everything up! The old woman had warned him, but he hadn't thought…what the hell could he have done to mess everything up this badly?!

He realised Howard was still next to him. "So, how did this happen then? You, owner and manager of a zoo? Never saw that coming at school!"

"Oh, thanks very much, sir!" Howard said, sounding offended. Then he grinned. "Nah, I'm just kidding. Never thought I'd end up here either! Especially after I dropped out of school at 15…"

_What? Howard didn't drop out of school at 15! He did his GCSEs, got a job at the zoo, then hired me! It was me who dropped out at 15…_

"You dropped out at 15?"

"Yeah, don't you remember? I guess not, I mean, you were only 13 weren't you? I can still remember when it happened. It was the night of Michelle Connor's 16th birthday party. Do you remember her? Anyway, I wasn't invited so I went out for coffee and I met Joey. He's the one who got me a job at this place. Trainee zookeeper! Didn't take me long to work my way up…"

Vince felt a wave of horror pass down his spine. He remembered now, of course he did. Originally, he hadn't gone to the party either, had gone out for coffee with Howard instead. Then they'd ended up getting pissed on peach schnapps in the playground. Only, he'd gone back and gone to the party after all…

"…and of course Leroy was a great trainee zoo keeper. You remember Leroy? Anyway, he and I were a great team. Still are actually, he shares the flat with me and Victoria. You know, he even managed to beat a kangaroo in a boxing match once! That was when Victoria and I started dating; she was impressed at how I'd trained him up. That was back when a man called Bob Fossil ran the place. I'd never do anything so dangerous now."

"What happened to Fossil?"

"Oh, he and the previous owner, Dixon Bainbridge, both got arrested for performing highly unethical experiments on animals. Nasty pair, they were."

"Yeah."

The conversation carried on for about 10 minutes, but Vince was only half listening. He was still in shock. Then Mick and Mrs Gideon (_or should that be Mrs Moon now?_) came up.

"Daddy! Daddy, I got to feed the monkey!"

Vince tried to smile. "Did you?"

"Yeah! It was brilliant daddy!"

"Nice one! Come on, lets go look round some more." He turned to Howard. "It was nice to have met you again."

"You too. Bye now!"

Vince felt like his heart was breaking as he walked his 'son' around the zoo. Howard had always been there for him, how could he manage without him? They were two halves of the same person; you couldn't just break that up! It didn't work! Eventually the small boy complained he was tired, and Vince began to walk him back to the flat.

"Vince!"

He turned, heart pounding, as he heard Howard's shout. "Yeah?"

"Is this yours? I found it on the bench where we were sitting earlier." Vince looked at the object Howard was holding out to him and his heart missed a beat. It was the watch.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's mine! Cheers Howard, you're a diamond."

"No problem." He said smiling, then turned and hurried over to where Mrs Gideon was standing in the middle of the car park.

Vince stared, dumbstruck, at the object in his hand. _I can go back. I can fix this! _He wound the watch like before, and placed his finger on the button. Then he paused.

He looked over at Howard.

The older man was whispering something in Mrs Gideon's ear, and she was giggling like a school girl.

He looked round at the zoo.

Everywhere he looked there were happy visitors, happy animals, happy staff.

Howard was happy.

He couldn't take that away from him.

Vince felt a tear slide down his face as he pocketed the watch. "Goodbye, Howard." he whispered sadly.

As he walked across the road, he had to practically jump out of the way to avoid being mowed down by a car that went speeding past.

He heard a screech of brakes.

A scream.

He turned. Howard was lying at an odd angle on the ground, not moving, the car a few feet away from him.

Howard.

Howard.

_Howard_!

Without even realising, Vince sprinted back over the road and fell to the ground beside the fallen man. "Howard?"

"How is he? You, Vince – is he ok? Tell me he's ok?!"

Vince looked over at the distraught Mrs Gideon. He looked back at Howard who, although unconscious, had a face twisted with pain. Vince could quite clearly see he didn't have long left.

"He'll be fine. I promise." He said gently, then stood and walked away a few metres. He stopped walking and turned back, taking the watch out of his pocket and winding it. He couldn't let Howard die, no matter how good his life might have turned out. "I'm so sorry, Howard." he whispered.

And pushed the button.

**

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What do you think? I have a basic plan for the story so I should be able to update quickly, but you never know! I have a bad habit of changing my mind a lot.

**Cookies and hugs for reviews!xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Argh! I haven't updated this in so long! Truth be told I forgot I'd even written it (I may be going prematurely senile lol). Anyway, it took long enough!**

**Like I said in 'Walking a Mile', I'm gonna be away for 2 weeks so no updates for ages again! Sorry! Lol.**

* * *

Vince blinked and looked around slowly. Where the hell was he this time? He hadn't even thought about where he wanted to end up.

That could prove a problem.

"Hi Vince."

He looked round and saw Michelle smiling coyly at him.

"Michelle! Oh God, am I glad to see you!"

She looked pleased. "Listen, I'm having a party this weekend. Saturday. I'm turning 16. You could come, be my…" she reached out and stroked his cheek, "guest of honour."

"This weekend. Your 16th party." A smile lit up Vince's face. _I can't go back to the same moment perhaps_ he thought with smug satisfaction, _but I __**can**__ go back to before it happened!_All he needed to do now was to go to the party, go out with Howard instead, and everything would go back to normal!

Normal. The exact thing he'd wanted to change. But he was scared by what had happened last time; maybe normal wasn't so bad…

"Hi Vince."

Vince felt his breath catch in his throat as he looked at Howard. He was alive. Oh God, he was alive. _That never happened. The car never happened._

"Yeah, sorry Michelle. Thing is, I've got plans with Howard Saturday so I wont be able to make it."

Michelle looked at Howard like he was something she'd found on the bottom of her shoe. "With him?" she looked quickly at Vince, and a perfect smile quickly replaced the sneer. "Well, why doesn't he come too? I'd love to have you…both…there!"

"I don't think…" Vince began, but Howard cut across him.

"Sure. Why not?"

"Great!" she winked at Vince. "See you Saturday."

"Bye." Howard said, but she ignored him.

"Howard you ball bag, what'd you do that for?"

"What?"

"The party! We had plans!"

"What, coffee? Big plan Vince. Come on!" he said excitedly, poking Vince in the ribs. "It's a party! I never get invited to parties! What's the worst that could happen?"

"I have no idea." Vince muttered to himself under his breath.

* * *

"And…and it was _pretty_!" Howard said happily, taking another swig of beer.

"Was it." Vince said sarcastically. "How many of those have you had?"

"Not…not many!" Howard protested. "I think _you're_ pretty, Vince!"

Vince glanced at him sharply. "Really."

"Yeah, coz…coz you've got…" Howard put a hand through Vince's hair and tugged gently. "Your hair is _nice_."

"Yeah." Vince rolled his eyes and removed his friend's hand. "Come on, let's get you home. I think we've been here long enough."

"_She's_ pretty!" Howard said, pointing. Vince followed his finger and saw he was pointing at Sarah.

"Yeah, she is. Come on, Casanova."

"Hi Vince." Michelle had appeared at his shoulder. "Where're you going?" she asked with a small pout.

"Howard's had enough actually, so…"

"I haven't!" Howard protested.

"Yes, you have!"

"He's having fun Vince! You should have fun." Michelle said seductively.

"I am having fun. Plenty of fun. But we really need to…"

"Sarah!" Michelle called her sister over. "As long as you're here being a pain in my arse, watch Vince's friend Howard would you?"

Sarah smiled at Howard. "Bloody hell, he's a bit wasted isn't he?"

"You're pretty." Howard told her. Vince cringed inwardly.

"Um…thanks!" Sarah replied with a laugh.

"Yeah, thanks guys but we really need to go. I'll see you Monday Michelle!"

Vince dragged Howard out of the house and down the road.

"Why'd we leave Vince? They were nice!"

"Trust me, I just saved you."

"Like a prince. Princey Vincey. Hey, that rhymes!" Howard started laughing at the rhyme, and Vince chuckled in spite of himself.

"Yeah, yeah it does. Come on, this is where you live."

"Night Vince!" Howard said, staggering up the path.

"Yeah. Night." Vince took the watch out of his pocket and wound it. With one final look at Howard's front door, he pushed the button.

* * *

Vince woke up with a start, but kept his eyes firmly closed. _Ok. Things are ok. You went back, you kept Howard away from Joey bloody Moose, so it's fine._

He opened his eyes slowly, and instantly felt his heart sink.

This wasn't his flat.

He obviously lived there, because his stuff was strewn everywhere, but he didn't recognise the room. He walked cautiously out into the hallway, and almost jumped out of his skin when someone laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Morning Vince. You're a bit jumpy this morning, aren't you?"

"Howard!" it was all Vince could do not to grab the older man in a bear hug. "Hi! I…um…"

Howard raised an eyebrow, amused. "Are you high or something?"

"What? No!"

"Good, because Michelle's coming back today and…"

"Michelle?" Vince frowned in confusion. "Back from where? Why's she coming here?"

"Um…because she's my wife and she lives here?" Howard looked at him. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Your…? Oh. Yeah, yeah I'm fine mate. Really."

_Howard and Michelle? Howard and __**Michelle**__?! How the fuck did that happen?!_

Vince groaned softly. They must have become friends after that party, and then got together. Once again, it was all his fault…

Wait a moment. Maybe this wasn't so bad? Howard was alive. The flat was certainly a lot bigger than the Nabootique flat, it looked better furnished so they obviously had money. Howard was happy. Vince didn't know whether he himself was happy or not, but he looked ok. Wasn't this exactly why he'd come back in the first place? To improve his life?

"Vince?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you hear anything I just said?"

"Yeah, I…well, no. No, not really."

Howard rolled his eyes. "I'm going to need you to be in today when she arrives. I'm planning a surprise dinner."

Vince grinned. "Aw, aren't you sweet!"

"Shut up." Howard said good naturedly. "I was just about to make coffee, you want some?"

Vince watched Howard and Michelle talking together, a small frown on his face. He felt a strange pang in his chest when Howard kissed her, and he couldn't work out why. _Maybe I had too much to eat or something…_ he thought. But it didn't feel like stomach pains. He sighed and wondered into the kitchen in search of more wine. Between the three of them they'd already managed to consume 6 bottles, but Vince for some reason wanted more.

"Vince? You ok honey?"

He looked round. "Um…yeah. I'm fine Michelle. Where's Howard?"

"He's gone out to buy something to drink with desert."

"Right." Vince swallowed nervously. If Michelle had been pretty when she was 16, it was nothing to how she looked now she was grown up. Vince couldn't even begin to imagine how Howard had managed to pull someone as stunning as her.

He was still wondering that when she leant forwards and kissed him. Vince pulled his head back, stunned. "What're you doing?"

"I missed you."

"So?! What about Howard?!"

"Its fine, I told you, he's at the shop."

"That doesn't make it fine!"

Michelle rolled her eyes. "Come on, Vince; don't tell me you're feeling guilty! You're the one who told me not to leave Howard."

"I…"

"We've been together for over a year Vince." she said, pouting. "Don't tell me you're bored of me?"

"No! I mean…excuse me."

He ran from the room. _Oh God, I'm shagging Howard's wife. Why the hell am I shagging Howard's wife?!_ Ok, so he'd teased Howard about Gideon back at the zoo, and he'd flirted outrageously with any girl who might have given Howard a second look, but he'd never actually seduce someone he was seeing!

Only, seemingly, he would. Vince had no idea how long Howard and Michelle had been together, but he got the feeling it wasn't much longer than Vince and Michelle.

He thought for a second, then pulled out his mobile and dialled Naboo's number. The Shaman always knew what to do.

"_Hello?_"

"Hey, Naboo! It's Vince."

"…_who?_"

"Vince. From the zoo."

"_Listen, if you're getting double vision it's nothing to do with me. I only supply the best._"

"What? Naboo, you're not my dealer!"

"_Oh. How did you get this number then?_"

"I used to work with you at the zoo!"

"_I don't think so. We haven't lost any keepers in ages. Are you sure I haven't sold you anything? You sound like you're on something._"

Vince hung up without saying anything. They'd never even gone to the zoo! He took a deep breath and took the watch out again, winding it. Ok, so it wasn't as bad as Howard being dead or anything, but Vince felt slightly sick when he thought he could betray his best friend like that.

"Third time lucky." He muttered quietly, and pushed the button.

**

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Hmm. I don't really like this chapter, seems a bit short and nothing really happens. Oh well.

**Please review! x**


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